Plane Crazy

Plane Crazy (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Nice two-reeler from Warner features Dorothy Lee playing a stowaway who gets aboard a "round the world" trip with a couple pilots (Arthur & Morton Havel) who are just playing a scam. Once the plane reaches the ground and the media are fooled by the gag, the young lady sings about the various places they've been. PLANE CRAZY certainly isn't going to go down in history as a masterpiece but for those of you like myself who enjoy these shorts it should at least keep you entertained. This is a pretty weird musical as there's quite a bit of story built around it and I think there's actually more story than songs. The Havel brothers and their routine was a little interesting and we did get one good bit at the start dealing with how much it costs for people to go up and down in their plane. I thought Lee was incredibly charming in her role as she certainly came across very good natured and she was someone I would have liked to have seen more of. Her voice wasn't the greatest but it wasn't bad enough to where it hurt the film. The musical numbers themselves were pretty much by the numbers and it's doubtful you'll be singing any of them when the films over with.

In another of those Broadway Brevity shorts, Dorothy Lee who was usually the girl Bert Wheeler panted after in the Wheeler&Woolsey films, came over from RKO to star in this Warner Brothers short subject. Songwriter Cliff Hess wrote some serviceable numbers for this that has Dorothy stowing away around the world and then telling of her adventures and her romance.

The plot such as it is doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but the singing and dancing and comedy are what the movie-going public paid to see. I'm sure that the pretty and attractive Ms. Lee kept the audience in their seats and they didn't go for popcorn while Plane Crazy was in between features of a double bill.

This short is about a couple of fliers, played by the Havel brothers of vaudeville, who want the attention the other pilots are getting so they decide to fake a round the world flight for the publicity value. Mischievous Dorothy Lee, who lit up several of the Wheeler and Woolsey comedies over at RKO, hides out in their plane. Remember this was at a time when flight was still considered the stuff of stunts and novelty. If people wanted to do any real traveling they took the train.

When the pilots return from their faked flight they use their celebrity as an opportunity for some musical interludes involving their travels. These numbers are elaborately staged and costumed, but you have to remember that most studios, including Warner Brothers, borrowed sets and costumes from their feature productions for these shorts that were part of the "night at the movies" experience that people got when they bought a movie ticket in the 30's and 40's.

The numbers are well done and the songs catchy - catchier and better done than those in some actual feature length musicals from the period. As for the Havel brothers, their humor is pretty much exhibit A in what killed vaudeville, but do watch out for the high kick of one of the brothers. Without moving his body at all he manages to fling his foot from the ground to the chin of his brother. Pretty impressive.

There were three things I liked here in this 20-minute short, the kind of film often played in theaters in the 1930s prior to the main feature. They usually promoted unknown talent for a studio, hoping it would be the "break" those people needed to make it into the big-time. Most of the time, it didn't work but often these 20-minute films had some good moments.

Early on we get a humorous Abbott-and-Costello-type routine from pilots "Jack (?) and Bill" regarding the fee they charged to take people "up and down" in their plane.

In the ending few minutes, I liked the Busby Berkeley-type dance number. It was exactly like the famous Berkeley performances except it only had about 20-25 dancers instead of the normal hundreds. Nonethess, they did the normal ceiling shots looking down, giving up the kaleidescope look. If you know those Berkeley films, you know what I mean.

It the middle was a pretty girl with a very pleasing face and personality: Dorothy Lee as "Dottie." However, her voice probably didn't help her reach stardom. It wasn't bad, but it was too much like an Olive Oyl or Betty Boop sound. Miss Lee must have been volatile or a poor judge of males as she married four times within a 10-years span. She had the last laugh, outliving them all before dying at the age of 88.

The movie's dialog and the lame jokes in this featurette didn't help anyone in the cast. To my knowledge, none of the actors in here "made it," but kudos for the effort they all gave. A lot of work went into this comedy-musical.